ESS Region 16: Jehoshua Jireh Smart
October 19, 2020
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ACSA Region 16 2020 Every Student Succeeding winner Jehoshua Jireh Smart.
Editor’s note: These are the final two Q&A interviews with Every Student Succeeding winners. Help celebrate the winners during the virtual Every Student Succeeding Recognition Event at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Watch it live on ACSA’s
YouTube channel
and ACSA’s
Facebook page
, and watch five inspiring student stories.. 
Grade: 12 School: North Hollywood High School District: Los Angeles USD ACSA region: 16 Jehoshua Jireh Smart has excelled in just about everything he has done and has been a difference-maker along the way.  He’s a deacon at church and a member of the Martin Luther King Young Juniors for Justice program that does community outreach. He’s a starter on the varsity baseball team at North Hollywood High School and spends time socializing with special education students and playing sports with them. He’s also not afraid to step out of his comfort zone. In his sophomore year, Jireh was recommended for a transfer to a Highly Gifted Magnet school, where an IQ of 145-plus is required for admittance and classes are taught two years above grade level. The leap was a challenge and required an incredible amount of time and energy, including after-school tutoring.  He took advantage of programs that were available to him and is now preparing for college and career. What are your hobbies and interests? My favorite subject in school is English hands down. I love literature, writing styles, and reading. My hobbies are reading a variety of books. I love exercising and running. I enjoy cooking and spicing up foods. I enjoy making smoothies in the morning. I try to be health-conscious and eat the proper foods for my health.  My sport is baseball. I have played since I was in second grade. I loved Little League and continued to play up to middle school. In middle school, I switched my time over to the cello. I played at Palms Middle School and I joined the Inner City Youth Orchestra. One of the highlights of this time was meeting Yo-Yo Ma and playing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall many times. What has been your biggest challenge? The biggest challenge has been finding a balance between individual growth and collective solidarity. Meaning, I enjoy sharing time and collective space but I also aspire to grow my beliefs, character, passions, achievements and goals as an individual.  Which educators have helped you succeed? My fifth-grade teacher, Dr. Okore at Westport Heights Elementary School, taught me discipline, organization, work ethic and the seriousness of focus. He also emphasized great songs, quotes and poetry written by great people around the world. In high school, my English teacher Mrs. Underwood helped me find and hone in on my passion for English. She encouraged me to pursue college (even though I knew I was going) and she helped to grow my focus for writing and literature. I felt well supported and educated by Mr. Bradbury, Ms. Guillo, and Mrs. Rudemaker. She helped me to own who I am and feel very good and positive about being at this school and in the gifted program. I am grateful and appreciate each of them. What advice would you give to others in your situation? The advice I would give others in new situations:  1. Own who you are. 2. Play to your strengths.  3. Be mindful of your weaknesses but don’t give them too much energy. 4. Look through an optimistic lens.   What does it mean to win this award? To win this award, it feels like my efforts and the person that I have been working on and building myself up to be was noticed and rewarded. Thank you to everybody involved for caring and investing in my journey. And it encourages me to continue to own who I am.
Every Student Succeeding winners overcome the odds
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